Nightmares and Dreamscapes

[The Movie Mark]

I figured I'd make a post in the brand new TV section (that y'all begged for) so it wouldn't sit there and creep me out in all its blankness.

Did anybody watch the recent TNT production of Nightmares and Dreamscapes? Long description short - it consisted of eight episodes that were each based on a different Stephen King short story. Each episode boasted its own unique cast of somewhat known actors (William Macy, William Hurt, Claire Forlani, Steven Weber, Kim Delaney, Tom Berenger, Ron Livingston, etc).

The first two were fairly entertaining (it's hard for me to not be entertained by something starring Claire Forlani), but after that the episodes descended into all sorts of lameness. There were a couple of adequate episodes mixed in, but mostly it was a huge disappointment.

Does Stephen King have to make everything end so anti-climactically with no real closure? I'm really starting to think the guy is just a major product of hype.

Kind of like Kim Delaney. Did her lips undergo daily collagen injections prior to filming her episode? Or was she just the unlucky victim of a bee stinging incident? I'm also curious what was up with her slurred, Holly Hunter-esque vocal stylings. "Hey Shteven, let'sh jusht keep driving and not shtop."

I don't really remember her talking like that in anything else I've seen her in. Something's rotten in Denver, and for once it's not the Broncos.

[MsCali]

Does Stephen King have to make everything end so anti-climactically with no real closure? I'm really starting to think the guy is just a major product of hype.

Unfortunately, I think you are right. Mr. C and I were all excited to watch Rose Red when it came on (and by all excited, I mean, he was excited and I was terrified). It was a good few hours of freaky occurrences and eerie storyline. But it just died towards the end, and the ending (and explanation of what was going on) was the lamest thing I've ever seen.

Though, when he wants to be good, he can be, apparently. Mr. C is a huge fan of the Dark Tower series of books. And I enjoyed The Green Mile. And Hearts in Atlantis.

[tangentgirl]

I am a fan of Steven King... I have not seen any of the episodes though.

[nikkibluejeans]

To be fair to Mr. King, he did not write the teleplays for any of the segments of Nightmares and Dreamscapes. He doesn't often write screenplays/teleplays, most likely because he's not asked to.

I haven't seen this particular miniseries, but I know that historically, his stories are used mostly for their premise - and they're not portrayed accurately onscreen. They're often turned into "slasher"-type horror movies.

Perfect example is The Shining. Everyone loves the classic thriller with Jack Nicholson - it was a great horror flick, but wasn't true to the book much at all. When they made the TV miniseries of it, King wrote the teleplay, and it was (obviously) much different and truer to the book. Fans like me were very happy to see it.

The movie Cujo is worlds different from the book as well, the most noticeable difference being the lack of Cujo's perspective in the movie. King is a brilliant stream-of-consciousness writer - even, in this case, with an animal. When I first read the book in high school, I cried at the end - because he wrote with much sympathy for Cujo.

I thought that The Green Mile was done well, and Pet Sematary is still one of my favorite SK movies, but his books are always better. And his short stories are amazing. (Don't blame him for Secret Window!) In those, he does tend to go out on a cliffhanger, but I look at it as leaving on a high note - and (in written form), they work well. If you ever read Night Shift - a collection of short stories, you'll not only see hints of future books like The Stand and Christine, but you'll get some truly unique stories like "I am the Doorway" and "Battleground" (my all-time favorite SK story).

Sorry to ramble, but I had to say that he's really not to blame for bad interpretations of his original work - especially when he probably had nothing to do with it.

[AustralianAnn]

Didn't see it. I used to read Stephen King books when I was in high school. I've read 20 at least. I stopped with that one with the chick tied up in the bed, naked, for the entire book (Gerald's Game?).

I agree that his short story collections are awesome. "Night Shift" and "Different Seasons" (Rage, Shawshank, The Body/aka Stand By Me and Apt Pupil) are great.

"The Stand" miniseries with Rob Lowe was a huge disappointment.

I love bad Stephen King movies (It, The Langoliers, Thinner) and my all time favourite "Maximum Overdrive", which was later remade as "Trucks" (bad but not in a good way).

Of course, there are great movies too. Shawshank and The Body (Stand By Me) have a lot more added to them and are classics. I also like Misery, Dolores Claireborn, Carrie and Apt Pupil.

A Stephen King related movie is usually worth a look. They're either brilliant or so wrong, they're right.

[The Movie Mark]

I'm sure you're right, Nikki. I know a lot of it has to do with the translation, but are you saying the screenplays completely divert from the original story?

For example, did King's Secret Window have a different ending and/or twist than the movie?

I've only read two King novels - Pet Sematary and Salem's Lot. Pet Sematary was my favorite of the two. I read it before I watched the movie, and I think that's why I was a little disappointed in the movie. It left out some stuff from the book that I was eager to see on screen, and it never went as far as it could or should have. From what I remember, I didn't care for Dale Midkiff as the lead.

It's a movie that I wouldn't mind seeing a remake of.

[tangentgirl]

I'd say if there are some Stephen King books that you should pick up... then The Stand would be one of them. (Gun Slinger series...but that might be an undertaking if you just want to dabble). It, would be another one. I thought that the tv movie version was "okay" until the end. What a botched job that was. I still tell people that they really should see it if for no other reason than to check out Tim Curry's performance. He totally creeped me out.
Oh... and the Shining... I, too, very much appreciate the tv movie version of that one.


When deciding whether or not I'm going to pay to see a Stephen King inspired movie... I always check to see who the director/actors are first.

[shaneo6930]

admin said:

For example, did King's Secret Window have a different ending and/or twist than the movie?

The ending of the book was different, but the twist wasn't.